Tapping attachment.



Patented Mar. 26, 1912.

RJ S. BLAKE.'

TAPPING ATTACHMENT.

APPLICATION I'ILIznl JUNE a, 1910,

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'invrriin sriirns PATENT orrien.

ROBERT S. BLAKE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO BENJAMIN ELECTRIC MANU FACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

TAPPING ATTACHMENT.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, Roiairr S. BLiiitii, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Tapping Attachments, of

, and usually have no protection against thieves. Much annoyance and loss has been' caused, for instance, by the loss of lamps .from sockets which are located inaccessible Iet places. Since the advent of the tungsten land other more expensive forms of lamp this has become a far more serious trouble than was before the case. Devices have from time to time been proposed for remedying this difficulty; for instance for preventing the unauthorized removal of lamps from their sockets, but each of these devices has been subject to certain disadvantages.

` It is the object, therefore, of my invention to provide a tapping attachment which is thief-proof and which is of such a natuie that it will be at once cheap of manufacture and convenient and etlieient in use.

I have shown, by way of example, one embodiment ot' my invention in the accompanying drawings, but it is to be understood that my invention may be embodied in other deviceswithout exceeding the scope thereof as stated in the appended claims.

I'n the drawings Figure 1 is a longitudinal section taken through a plug 'lamp socket constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the device; Fig.l 3 is a horizontalsection taken on`the line '3 3 ofy Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows; and Fig. 4 is a detail view of a 'peculiar form of set screw Whiehl may employ.

Referring now to the device which I have shown in the drawingsas conveniently illus` Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed .Tii'ne 2, 1910.

Patented Mar. 2e, 1912 serial no. 564,717.

contact sleeve ll of a kind adapted for use in connection with a socket of the Edison type. The sleeve ll is constricted at its lower portion to form a neck l2, the lower end of vwhich is flared out to form a flange 13.

14 is a lamp receiving shell having a [lange l5 at its upper edge which engages over the flange 13 of the neck 12, the 'enr gagement being such as to permit a relative rotative movement between the shelll4 and the neck l2, while at the saine time eurrent is conveyed to the shell 14 from the sleeve 1l through the neck 12. The base 10 is provided with a central passage opening into a wall or depression 16, which passage receives a conducting tube 17, the upper end of which .is flanged over to form a central contact for making connection with the ccnter contact of the socket. The tube 17 is retained in place by a ring 18 located in the depression 1G and secured to the tube in any desired manner. A stem 19 is slidably mounted in the tube 17 and is connected thereto by means of a spring 20 which is attached at one end to the tube 17 and at the other end to a head 2li upon a shank 19. It will be seen that the base l0, together with the sleeve 11 and tube 17 form a plug adapted to receive current from an ordinaryldison socket and that the rotatable shell 14 and center contact 2l form a lamp socket. It will be seen that, the shell 14 being rotatable, a ulamp cannot be inserted therein or removed therefrom unless the shell is held stationary with relation to the threads of the shell. I Aprovide means l'or normally preventing access to said shell and thereby preventing removal of the lamp therefrom, such means being capable of being rendered inoperative when the plug portion of the device is not in place in a socket.

To the above end I'provide a casing 2Q which surrounds the shell 14 and the lower part of the base 10. rlVithin this casing is placed an insulating riiig Q3, such ring bcing located in the annular recess formed by the neck 12 and being adapted to rotate upon said neck. llic insulating ring 23 is provided with a screw threaded hole containing a set screw 24 which extends outward into a hole 25 formed in an insulating col-l lar 26 which is secured tb the outside of the casing 22 at the upper edge thereof, the casing' being provided' with an enlarged slot- 27 for admitting passage of the screw. The head of the set screw 24normally lies about flush with the outer edge of the hole 25 and its end lies about flush with the inner surface of the insulating ring 28. When the parts are in this condition, thecasing 22 can rotate relatively to the rest of the ldevice and it is consequently im possible to remove the plug from the socket, since access canclosed by the lamp.

not be had to the plug to .impart a rotating movement thereto. -At the same time the lamp cannot be removed 4from the rotatable shell 14 since that shell .is protected by the` casing, the open end or the latter being The screw 24, may be turned until it reaches the position show;v Yin Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings, in which` position it engages in one of a pluralityor' holes' 27' with which the neck l2 is provided. It will be seen that when the set screw is moved into this position, the casing, ring 23, and sleeve 4l1 are locked together so that a rotating movement imparted to the casing 22 will effect a like rotating movement of the shell 11 and will permit the plug member to be withdrawn. When the plug member has been withdlaivnfrom the socket, the screw 24 may be taken out, whereupon the casing 22 can be rendered inoperative as a covering for the shell and by moving it forward relatively tothe remainder ot' the device to leX- pose the shell 14. The shell may then be grasped by hand. and .the lamp removed.

In order to prevent manipulation of the set screw 24 by an unauthorized person, the

person should examine the device and iind the, head 4of the screw 24, he would have great ditiiculty 1n turning the screw without the necess iry special wrench. lVhen, how` ever, an authorized person desires to take out the lair-p, he inserts the wrench into the end of the screw anddrives the latter 1n until it reaches the position shown in Figs.

l and 3 wher. the plug may be removed. He then removes the screw 24 which enables him to draw the casing 22 forward upon the plug to expose the shell i4, which latter may be grasped by hand to enable the lamp to' be withdrawn. I

igoenivo It will be seen that the device is simple.

and of a nature such that it can bemanufactured upon-an economical. scale. Furthermore the device which 'lv have chosen to showA in the drawings has the great adva-n tage that it may be used in connection with. any existing form of' socket. Those who "find it necessary to provide against theft of` lamps maydo so by inserting this device into the sockets which they already haveinstalled, no rewiring being necessarv.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Lets ters Patent is v 1. In combination, a plug member, and a casing member forsaid plug member rotatably mounted with respect thereto, one of said members being provided with means enabling said members to be locked together to permit the plug member tobe rotated.

2. In combination, a plug, and an outer casing for said plug rotatably mounted with respect thereto, said casing being provided with means enabling it to be locked to the plug to permit the latter to be rotated.

3. In combination, a plug, an outer casing rotatably mounted upon said plug and covering the portion thereof which is exposed when said plug is inserted into a socket, and means for locking said casing to said plug to permit the latter to be rotated.

4. In combination, a plug, an outer casing rotatably mounted upon said plug and' covering the portion thereof which is exposed when said plug is inserted into aI socket, and key-operated means for locking said casing to said plug to permit the latter to be ro tated.

5. In combination, a base, a lamp termi- -nal' receiving contact mounted to rotate with respect to said base, a second lamp contact, a casing surrounding said lamp terminal receiving contact and normally locked against movement to disclose the same, and means enabling said casing' to be released so that it may be moved to disclose said lamp terminal receiving contact.

(i. ln combination, a base, a lamp terminal receiving Contact mounted to rotate with respect to said base, a second lamp contact, means for normally preventing manual acn cess to said .lamp receiving contact, and means enabling said tirst-na1ned means to be rendered inoperative when desired.

7. -ln coi'rl'iination, a base, a lamp termi- 'e nal receivingr contact mounted to rotate with respect to said. base, a second lamp Contact, means i'or normally preventing manual access to said lamp receiving Contact, and keyoperatcd means enabling said first-named -means to be rendered inoperative.

' 8. A plug lamp socket comprising a plug member, alamp terminal receiviilg contact mounted to rotate with respect to said plug member, a second lamp Contact, means for normally preventing manual access to saidl lamp receiving contact, said means being eapable of being rendered inoperative when said plug member is not in place in a socket, and releasable means for preventing withdrawal of said plug member from la socket into which it has been inserted. v

9. A plug lamp socket comprising a plug member, a lamp terminal receiving contact mounted to rotatev'vith respect to said plug member, a second lamp contact, a casing surrounding said lamp receiving contact and capable of being moved t0 disclose said contact when said plug member is not in place in a socket, and releasable means for preventing Withdrawal of said `lug member from a socket into which it' las been inserted.

10. A plug lamp socket comprising a plug member, a lamp receiving contact mounted to rotate with respect to said plug member, a second lamp contact, a casing mounted to rotate with respect to said plug member and surrounding the portion of the device which is exposed when the plug member is `in piace in a socket, said casingl being adapted to be moved to disclose said lamp receiving member when said plug is not in place in a socket, and said casing being provided with uneans for enabling it t0 be locked to vsaid plugr member to permitthe latter to be rotated. l n

In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my namein the presence of two witnesses.

ROBERT s. BLAKE.

Witnesses CHARLES Ga Corn, MAnnL REYNOLDS; 

